P.T.'s Grille — Restaurant in Goldsboro

Disappointing Experience at P.T.’s Grille in Goldsboro

I’ve been a loyal customer of the P.T.’s brand for over 25 years, primarily in the Wilmington area, and have always had positive experiences. However, my visit to the Goldsboro location was incredibly disappointing—and unfortunately, will be my last.

While traveling through Goldsboro on my way to the beach, I stopped to place a to-go order. What should have been a quick stop turned into a 40-minute wait, with no clear explanation or accountability from the staff. Although someone who ordered after me and dined in received their food before I did, my concerns about the delay were essentially ignored.

When I finally asked for a refund because I couldn’t wait any longer, I was told that a manager wasn’t on site and couldn’t be reached easily. The employee said she’d have to call him, but no resolution was offered on the spot.

More troubling than the long wait was what I witnessed while standing there: the cook walked to the back, came out moments later visibly vaping (with smoke coming from his mouth and nose), and returned directly to the grill—no handwashing, no gloves. I also saw him repeatedly wipe sweat from his face with a bar towel and continue cooking, again without gloves or handwashing. These are clear food safety violations.

By the time I finally received the order, the fries were soggy and unappetizing—clearly having sat out for too long. The sandwich quality was also poor, especially compared to what I’m used to from other locations.

I called the manager, Blake Vail, the next day to explain the situation. He did not return my call as promised, so I had to follow up with him myself. Despite everything I shared—including food safety violations and the disappointing food—his only response (repeated four times) was to offer to cook me a “hot and fresh meal” if I came back. I explained that I was only passing through Goldsboro and that I would not be returning after what I experienced. I also asked to speak to someone above him, but he refused to provide that contact.

Due to the multiple health code violations I witnessed, I filed a report with the Wayne County Health Department. I was told during that call that this was not the first complaint of this nature about this location.

I sincerely hope the necessary changes are made at this restaurant—for the sake of future customers’ safety and...

I had one of the worst experiences here today that I ever had. My wife and I typically stop here before shopping at harris teeter just due to the convenience but after today we'll be going out of our way to find someplace better.

The ordering method is quite simple, you write it down on a piece of paper. Actually even simpler, you put checkmarks and circle toppings so there is no question about legibility. I ordered a burger with all the toppings and my wife ordered a roast beef sandwich. The host goes over everything with a sharpie apparently making it easier for the cooks to read but clearly this isn't enough. After our sandwiches sat for about 5 minutes waiting on fries, they arrived at our table and my wife was delivered a burger instead of the roast beef she had ordered. I double checked the slip to make sure she didn't inadvertently check the wrong box, but nope, it was clearly marked with sharpie. I returned the burger to swap it out for a roast beef.

Instead of making a fresh sandwich, they scraped off the toppings from her burger and put them on some paper. After briefly warming the roast beef, they slapped on the recycled toppings and put them on the bun from the burger which by this time was totally soggy from the burger juice soaking in.

She ended up just eating the roast beef with knife and fork since the bun was unusable.

Upon checkout the host asked how everything was, which as it turns out is just lip service since when I answered "not that great actually", she didn't even hesitate to tell me the total and grab my credit card.

A manager was never involved in any step of this process.

Completely...

The cook was on his personal phone several times. He would leave the grill and walk out front to talk with someone. He did this at least twice that I saw. He came back in and went directly to the grill. He didn't wash his hands at all. I also didn't see the other two employees wash their hands between the cash register and hanbeling food. They all could at least use gloves. Cook had a friend come in and sit at the counter. The cook made his friend's food before he finished cooking for the paying customers. The friend didn't pay that I saw. The other two employees seemed to be more focused on socializing than paying attention to customers. There was a table of 2 people that walked out because no one came to help them. The restaurant itself has a decent sandwich shop vibe. I could do without the TVs being so loud on the basketball games. My husband and I finally got our food after about 35 minutes of waiting. This was our first time at PTs in Goldsboro; we won't be coming back. We love the PTs in the Wilmington area, but this location is just not it. My biggest issues tonight were the sanitation or lack thereof and how long it took to get our food. The food was okay. The fries were a...